Zax-Happy New Year
by brionylover
Summary: Based after New Year episode. Zoe and Max end up in a hotel together on New Years Eve. Will they be able to work it out second time lucky?
1. Happy New Year

Zoe looked at the clock, 11,58, two minutes till 2015. Her past year had been hectic, especially Max. The other night at Dylan's she wished she could have kissed him, let him take her heart once again, then Dylan came, of course he had to come, and so the kiss never happened, and so Zoe, and Max, were left with broken hearts, so much for Christmas spirit...

"So, can I have a new year kiss or will I have to settle for a game of golf?" Max asked cheekily, awakening Zoe from her thoughts.

"You'll have to wait and see." She teased, a grin spread across Max's face.

"5...4...3...2...1..." Zoe moved closer to Max as everyone around them counted down, and then she kissed him, what she'd been wanting to do for weeks.

"I'm thinking you and me together tonight." She whispered in Max's ear.

"I'll count to 100" Max replied, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"Meet you in the car." Zoe flashed Max a secret smile as she walked away.

"Well, I'll see you all tommorow, but for now, I'm going." Zoe said her goodbyes and walked out of the crowded pub.

As she strolled towards her car she turned to look at the fireworks, illuminating Holby's sky, she saw two people huddled together, kissing in the moonlight. Then she realised who it was, Ethan and Honey. Zoe smiled to herself, she thought Lily would have been a better match for him but love is what matters.

She took her keys out her pocket and unlocked her car, as she switched the engine on the radio buzzed into action.

When Max opened the door a song began playing on the radio.

"L is for the way you look at me,

O is for the only one I see,

V is very very extraordinary,

E is even more than anyone that you adore can..."

"It can be our song Zo." Max commented.

"If you want, I was thinking more 'Your sex is on fire' but this is a good choice." Zoe replied, both of them giggling together, "So yours, mine or hotel?"

"Well to be honest, I'd rather There wasn't a chance Robyn and Lofty would catch us, and the same with Dylan." Max replied.

"Hotel it is then." Zoe said, putting both hands on the steering wheel and accelerating.

The black Audi TT pulled up outside Holby Hotel. Max and Zoe stepped out and walked towards the large building, Zoe's shoes clicking loudly on the floor. They made their way through the doors and walked towards reception.

"Hiya, have you got any rooms free?" Zoe asked.

"I'm afraid we only have our Honeymoon suite." The receptionist answered in a sickly sweet voice.

"That'll do." Zoe replied, sticking her credit card in the machine. "How much?"

"One thousand, four hundred pounds." The receptionists voice echoed around the room.

"Blimey, no wonder it's free, first of all who would have their honeymoon in Holby and secondly at that price you could have a week away on a private island with unlimited champagne and lobster, but needs must." Zoe ranted.

"Is that the kind of honeymoon you'd like Zo?" Max questioned, "unlimited champagne and lobster?" Zoe smiled,

"Well," she replied, "I'm sure one day I can show you my wedding scrapbook."

"You have a wedding scrapbook." Max giggled.

"Shush, or you'll be punished later." Zoe teased.

"Please enter your pin." The receptionist interrupted, obviously annoyed with the couple standing on the other side of her desk. Zoe entered her pin, took the keys and waltzed off to the honeymoon suite.


	2. I Love You

**thank you for all the wonderful reviews, they are so inspiring, this is quite a short chapter but I've been inspired to write and so there may be another chapter fairly soon. Xxx**

Zoe and Max finally drifted off at about five.

Zoe slowly opened her eyes and glanced to the left of her to look at the bedside clock one o clock, so late yet Zoe was cosy, so she lay in Max's arms. A few minutes later, Zoe felt max stir. Zoe smiled.

"Morning beautiful," he yawned.

"Do you think we should try out the room service?" Zoe asked her lover.

"Yeah, we worked up quite an appetite last night." He replied, grinning.

"You could say that." She giggled. Zoe sat up and turned to look at max, revealing her bare chest to him.

"I love you." She said boldly, smiling, she'd finally been able to tell him how she felt. Max smiled, they could easily communicate without words. Then he swept her up in a breathtaking kiss.

"Max, can you look in the leaflet and see what the room service number is." Zoe asked Max, innocently smiling.

"Okay." Max replied, getting out of the double bed and walking to the other side of the room.

"Have you been working out?" Zoe admired his chest, far more toned then the last time they had slept together. Max simply smiled as he walked back to the bed, the leaflet in his hand.

"Right, type this in, 789 123." Zoe read out from the leaflet, then she took the phone out Max's hand and held it to her ear.

"Hello, room service." A deep voice echoed out the room.

"Please can we order two plates of waffles and Nutella." Zoe replied.

"Certainly ma'am, which room." The voice asked.

"The honeymoon suite." Zoe said promptly.

"Thank you, a total of fourteen pounds will be charged to your bill, goodbye." And the phone let out a long beep, signalling that they had been hung up on.

"We should probably put on our dressing gowns." Max said.

"Yea..." But Zoe was interrupted by her phone buzzing. She looked at the called ID, Connie. "Oh no, we've totally forgotten about work, I'll tell her it's a family emergency, she'll probably call you in a minute."

"But Robyn's my sister, she'd know if I had a family emergency." Max said panickedly.

"Tell her your girlfriends been in a car crash." Zoe replied, answering her phone.

"Zoe where the heck are you?" A rather annoyed sounding Connie came out of the phone.

"Sorry family emergency, I'm just driving up to Liverpool, I'm pulled over on the M6, near Stoke, my dad's had a heart attack." Zoe lied deceitfully.

"Well why wasn't I informed?" Connie replied, not a hint of sympathy in her voice.

"I meant to phone you but I completely forgot." Zoe said, trying not to burst into giggles as Max did impressions of Connie.

"When will you be back?" The cold hearted women asked.

"I don't know, he's in a bad way, I've gotta go though Connie, bye." And Zoe hung up on the clinical lead. She put the phone down on the bed and burst into giggles. Then Max's phone started ringing.

"Max is there a reason for your absence in the ED?" Connie asked.

"My girlfriends been in a car crash in Scotland, I've gotta go, or I'm gonna miss my train, bye." And Max hung up.

"Max you're so rude, you can't just hang up on people like that." Zoe scolded playfully.

"You can if that person happens to be Connie." He replied, staring into Zoe eyes. He thought she was the most beautiful women alive, he especially loved her eyes, soon they were kissing, slowly and thoughtfully, until they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Room service." Max and Zoe quickly jumped out of bed and pulled on their dressing gowns. Max walked over to the door and unlocked it.

"Two plates of waffles and Nutella, with a twist for a special couple." The waiter announced.

"Thank you, but why exactly are we special?" Zoe questioned.

"Well you're in the honeymoon suite." The waiter replied, unaware of the situation.

"We're not recently married, if that's what you're thinking, but thank you." Max said, taking the two plates and walking over to the bed. Zoe shut the door and followed Max.


	3. Breakfast In Bed

**it is so amazing having such lovely reviews, especially as they're from some of my favourite fanfic authors, it's really inspiring and really makes me want to write. I have some big story lines in my head, but most of it is just fluff as that's what I like writing, and reading, about.**

It turned out the special twist had been a few love hearts scattered around the plate.

"Mmmm breakfast in bed, waffles are my favourite, although you're my favourite thing to have in bed." Max teased cheekily.

"How do you even come up with such cheesy compliments?" Zoe asked, secretly, she loved all the things Max said to her, especially the cheesy ones.

Max smiled, "Well, I certainly have a knack for speaking." Stuffing half a waffle into his mouth, chewing only a few times before gulping it down.

"You must have a massive oesophagus." Zoe said, intrigued by his table manners.

"Well, I personally have no idea what an osophag is, but I know one part of me, that you love, which is fairly big." Max teased.

"Can you even say a sentence, that isn't overly cheesy or contain an innuendo?" Zoe laughed.

"Not when your in the room." Max smiled, consuming Zoe in a hazelnutty snog. Soon their clothes were discarded and before long Zoe was happily writhing beneath Max.

"I love you" they muttered over and over again to each other, until finally they lay panting, entangled together on the double bed.

"Max, I know we've haven't been together very long but, do you want to move in with me?" Zoe asked timidly.

"Zoe, I'd love to, although I don't know how much work we'll get done because me and you in the same room usually ends up with both of us naked and entwined in a fury of passion." Max replied, clearly eager to act out the fury of passion.

"But why would we need to do any work, sex is perfectly adequate." Zoe replied, teasingly stroking her finger along her lovers jaw, leaning closer and closer, then ring ring, ring ring, ring ring, the sound of Max's phone rudely interrupted them.

"Whoever that is I'm going to kill them." Max said furiously, reaching over Zoe to get his phone.

"Easy tiger, I'm sure we can carry on after you've taken that call." She said.

"Max, I was rudely hung up on earlier, and I trust you're now on the train." Connie's cold voice echoed around Max's ear.

"Yes I am, how can I help you?" Max said, feigning nicety.

"Well, I have heard from Robyn that you did not return home last night and that you have not informed her where you are." Connie said.

"I left last night, I got the train to London from Holby, then the train to Glasgow, which is the train I just court, the next train is to Paisley which is where my girlfriend is." Max replied, Zoe was amazed at how much Max knew about Scottish train links.

"But you see Max, the last train from Holby to London leaves at eleven fifty six, but you were there for the countdown so you can't possibly have caught a train last night." Connie said, honestly, Connie is the only clinical lead who would check train times to ensure validity of excuses Zoe thought to herself.

"Well I waited till the first train in the morning." Max said, hoping the clinical lead wouldn't crack his lie.

"Well Mr Walker, could you tell me what time you court the train this morning?" Connie asked meanly.

"Ermmm, it was probably about..." Max started, Zoe hastily searched the train times on her phone, hurry up wifi she thought, "ermmmm I'm just trying to think..." Finally the train times loaded, she quickly zoomed in on the first train and shoved it under Max's nose, "I think it was about quarter past five."

"Well your answer tallies with the train times, so it appears you're not telling a lie." Connie replied, obviously annoyed that she hadn't court Max out.

"Okay, bye." Max replied and hung up, as soon as he had he let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks Zo you really helped me out there.

"No problem," she leant closer to him, "so, what were we doing before Connie interrupted?" Max leant forward, the noses nearly touching.

"Why don't I show you," and he kissed her so well it made her knees tremble.

A few hours later and Zoe and Max finally got up, they walked out Holby Hotel hand in hand, and got into Zoe's car.

"Right Max, if anyone sees us, we will be beheaded before you can say evil clinical lead," Zoe said, Max smiled, everything Zoe said made him want to laugh. "We need to go to an estate agents, but I don't want anyone from work seeing us, so we're going to go to Dylan's and go online."

"But won't Dylan see us?" Max asked, puzzled.

"He may but he won't tell Connie, as much as he hates rule breaking he hates snitching more." Zoe replied.

Zoe's car pulled up outside Dylan's houseboat and out stepped Zoe and Max, they linked hands and walked towards the front door.

Zoe turned the key in the lock, and let herself in.

"Anybody home?" Zoe called out as Dervla came to greet her.

"One sec." Dylan replied. A few moments later Dylan emerged from his bedroom. "What's he doing here?" Dylan asked rudely.

"He's my boyfriend." Zoe stated, Dylan finally understood, the night, a few days before Christmas, when he came with the cigarettes.

"Shouldn't you be working." Dylan questioned.

"We should, but it's new year, and we have some time off." Zoe replied, skirting around the truth.

"And by truth you mean, you faked something so you could have a few days off." Dylan said, thinking up the kind of excuse Zoe would likely have used to get out of work.

"You know me to well." Zoe replied, she smiled at Dylan, then plonked herself down on the sofa, gestured for Max to join her, and turned on the laptop.


	4. Onion Bajiis

**thank you for all the amazing reviews, follows and favourites they are sooooo inspiring!**

Zoe scrolled down right moves website looking for houses in Holby, Max was sat next to her, drinking a can of coke, looking at the houses and leaning on her shoulder.

"What about this one Max?" Zoe began, "three bedrooms, one ensuite, one bathroom, one toilet, open plan kitchen/dining room/living room, study, laundry room and attic."

"It's stunning!" Max replied, "but the price, eight hundred thousand pounds."

"Don't worry about the price, I have a big savings account." Zoe said, trying not to sound like she was bragging, "I'll phone them up." She typed the number into the phone.

"Hello, how can I help?" A thick Liverpudlian voice said.

"Hi, I'm on your website, I was wondering if I could book an appointment for seven Aisling Close?" Zoe answered.

"Yep, certainly can, is tommorow all right, I can do eleven?" The voice asked.

"That would be perfect thank you, I'm Dr Zoe Hanna." Zoe replied.

"Right then, I'll see you tommorow." The voice echoed.

"Ok, thank you, bye." Zoe said and hung up.

"We should have a takeaway to celebrate." Max said, fantasising onion bajiis in his head.

"Sounds like fun, but we'll have to ask Dylan first." Zoe replied, snuggling closer to Max as she shut down the laptop.

"Dylan." Zoe shouted.

"What is it." Dylan's voice echoed down the boat.

"Can we order Indian?" Zoe asked.

"Ok, get me a jalfreizi and pilau rice." Dylan said in his usual serious voice.

"Will do." Zoe called back.

"I was hoping you'd want an Indian." Max said, staring into Zoe's eyes.

"Well I knew it was your favourite, so you want onion bajiis, and a mixed grill to share?" Zoe asked, gazing back at Max.

"Definitely!" Max said, followed by a grin.

"You call them up then, I'm just going to the toilet." Zoe said, smiling back at Max and walking to the other end of the boat.

Max typed in the number and ordered their food, and when he put the phone down, he found Zoe in front of him, holding a big furry blanket.

"Wanna snuggle?" She asked him.

"Aww, does little baby Zoe want a cuddle?" Max mocked, smiling at the look on Zoe's face.

"Watch it you or I'll eat all the onion bajiis!" Zoe teased, sitting on Max's lap and throwing the blanket over them.

"It would be a lot better if we were naked." Max teased.

"Well unfortunately, this isn't our house, so we will have to make do with clothes." Zoe replied, snuggling closer to Max's chest, sneaking her hand up is shirt and running her fingers on his smooth six pack. Whilst she did this she was aware of Max's hand slowly up her leg where it rested on her inner thigh. Zoe was perfectly content, snuggled on top of Max.

They lay there for about half an hour until the doorbell rang. Max went to get the food and carried it into the kitchen.

"Dylan, the food's here." Zoe shouted, Dylan came into the kitchen, where Max was getting some plates out, followed by Dervla.

Dylan ate his at the table but Zoe and Max ate it snuggled together on the sofa, despite Dylan's complaints that it would get the blanket greasy.

"I'm tired, let's go to bed." Zoe said once she had finished the last onion bajii.

"Ok then, which is your room?" Max asked her, yawning, he too was quite tired. Zoe led him to her room and shut the door behind them.

"You're so sexy." Max said, trying to be seductive.

"Well at least you're not relying on French to try and seduce me." Zoe cheekily flirted.

"Maybe you can teach me how to seduce people." Max flirted back. They leaned closer and closer to each other, Max's trousers soon looking like a tent as Zoe aroused him. Their tiredness vanished. Then they were kissing heatedly, frantically trying to remove each other's clothes. Once all the clothes were removed they collapsed onto the bed.

Finally their activities finished and they regained their breath.

"You're amazing you know." Max whispered in her ear.

"Thank you. You're not to bad yourself." Zoe whispered back, cheekily smiling. She loved the feel of his bare skin against hers.

"I love you Spiderman." He told her.

"I love you too Mary Jane." She replied.


	5. Breakfast At Tiffany's

**just saying, I've never been to Tiffany's so sorry if it's not accurate. Once again think you for all the amazing reviews they make my day!**

Zoe woke up entwined in Max's arms, her head on his chest as it rose up and down. Max opened his eyes only moments after Zoe awoke, they caught eye contact and smiled.

"You're beautiful you know." He whispered, it was still early and everything seemed peaceful.

"It's so lovely waking up to a compliment every morning." Zoe admitted, never losing eye contact with Max. They leaned forward for a kiss, it was sweet, gentle and meaningful. However it soon became heated and the sound of the bed banging against the wall awoke Dylan. He got out of bed, got dressed and went and banged on the door of Zoe's bedroom, the banging had now stopped but he could hear two slightly raised breathing rates.

"Zoe." Dylan called.

"What is it?" She asked back.

"I'm taking Dervla for a walk, if you stay again tonight I'd rather you were slightly quieter." He said, obviously embarrassed. Zoe and Max burst into fits of giggles.

"Honestly," Max said, "He must be a virgin."

"He's not you know, he lost his virginity at fourteen." Zoe replied.

"He didn't?" Max asked, genuinely surprised.

"He did, although, it probably put him off." Zoe said, laughing, she and Max were soul mates, so in love yet best friends, always knowing what the other was thinking.

"Why don't we get up, we could go out for breakfast, then have a look round the neighbourhood where the house is." Max said.

"That would be lovely." Zoe said, she sat up in bed and stretched, "I'm having a shower, if you want to join me."

"I'm on it like an Easter bonnet." Max joked, Zoe simply smiled at him. He jumped out of bed enthusiastically, following Zoe down the boat to the bathroom. She turned on the shower, waiting for the water to warm up, kissing Max heatedly as she was waiting. Finally the water turned warm and Zoe and Max stepped into the shower and he took her against the wall.

After forty five minutes, the couple finally made their way out the shower and back to the bedroom. Zoe picked out an outfit from the wardrobe, sexy enough to satisfy Max but decent enough for going out in public. Max just threw on his clothes from the night before, mesmerised my Zoe's bum. He brushed and straightened her hair whilst she put her makeup on.

"Why do you know how to style hair?" Zoe asked.

"Well, when I was at college, there was this girl I really fancied and she was doing a hairdressing club in the evenings, so I went to it." Max replied, obviously embarrassed. Zoe felt I slight twinge of jealousy as Max told the story.

"And did you go out with her?" Zoe questioned.

"No, she thought I was gay, because I did hairdressing." Max revealed, his face going redder. Zoe burst into fits of giggles.

"Well thank you for doing my hair but we better be off." Zoe managed between laughs.

They walked out the houseboat and got into Zoe's Audi TT. They drove for about five minutes until they reached Tiffany's.

"Mmmm it smells so good," Max said, "but not as good as you.", winking cheekily at her. They parked up and got out the car, choosing a table by the window.

"Why don't we order for each other." Max suggested.

"Just saying I don't like..." Zoe began, before she was interrupted by Max.

"Shhh shhh shhh, what fun is it if you tell me what you want?" Max asked, grinning at her.

"Fine." Zoe said, feigning a sulky face.

Then the waitress walked over, "Hiya, what can I get you?" She asked.

"For this young man here, I would like to order a cheese and onion omelette with bacon." Zoe told the waitress, remembering Robyn complaining to Max about ruining her saucepans making omelettes.

"And for this young lady," Max said, "I would like to order, pancakes and Nutella with a side of bacon."

"Any drinks?" The waitress asked.

"She will have a macchiato with three shots and milk." Max said, he'd memorised Zoe's favourite coffee ages ago.

"And he will have a plain black coffee." Zoe said.

"So how did I do," Max asked cheekily.

"Perfect, but how did you know about Nutella and bacon pancakes?" Zoe questioned suspiciously.

"Sometimes I used to walk past your house, on the way to work and see you eating breakfast." Max admitted, "and by the way, that's exactly what I would have ordered, I love omelettes." They smiled at each other caught up in each other's eyes.

"Well, well, well, look who we've got here," a familiar voice echoed behind them. There stood Connie, her arms folded, standing next to her, Grace, also with her arms crossed.

"When I got to Liverpool, I found out that my brother prank called me, I only just got back so I thought I'd have some breakfast." Zoe said, lying on the spot.

"Just after you phoned me the hospital phoned, they told me the man in the car with my girlfriend had died, so I called my girlfriend, and she admitted to cheating on me, so I got off at the next station and came straight back, I bumped into Zoe and we said we'd go to breakfast together." Max said, trying to look upset.

"Well are you coming into work today?" She asked sternly.

"I'm not sure, I'm really exhausted, I don't think I'll be working properly." Zoe said, trying to look tired.

"Same." Max said feigning a yawn.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Connie said, she knew something was going on, they seemed a bit closer than friends, but she just needed a way to prove it.

"One plain black coffee." The waitress said.

"That's me." Max said, taking the coffee out of the waitress's hands.

"And there's the triple shot macchiato with milk." She said handing the coffee to Zoe.

"Thank you." She replied.

"Your food will be about ten minutes." The waitress stated, before walking off to the kitchen.

"Okay, let's play truths." Max said excitedly.

"You sure like injecting fun into things." Zoe laughed.

"Ok, I'll start, number of marriage proposals?" Max asked.

"Two, Matt and Nick." Zoe replied.

"And you tuned them both down." Max questioned, intrigued.

"Yeah, I suppose, it's complicated." Zoe said, "Anyway, who would you rather sleep with Connie or Robyn?"

"Zoe, Robyn's my sister." Max said, Zoe smiling slightly evilly.

"And Connie's a vindictive cow." She replied.

"Connie, because I could never, she's my sister." Max said, shuddering at the thought, "Okay, Where would you rather have sex, in reception at the hospital with everyone watching, or in a slimy gutter full of rats, and worms, and vomit, during a storm?"

"Reception, my hair would get filthy if I had sex in a gutter," Zoe replied.

"You really love your hair don't you." Max said.

"Well you should be honoured that I let you style it." Zoe said, Max simply smiled.

Then their food arrived, and they tucked in, Max tried some of Zoe's Nutella and bacon and found it surprisingly delicious, Zoe ate some of Max's omelette and loved it despite hating cheese.

"We should do this more regularly." Zoe said, having thoroughly enjoyed herself.

"We should, it could be a date morning instead of a date night." Max grinned.

"Your jokes are awful." Zoe laughed, even though she secretly loved them.

"I know." Max replied, smiling.


	6. Aisling Close

**Sorry it's short, I've been ill recently and the antibiotics have made me so tired. I'm sorry I haven't updated as often as if like to, I'll try to update more. As always thanks for the amazing comments!**

The black Audi TT pulled up outside seven Aisling Close, it was Mock Tudor style and had a large front garden, it was close to the centre of Holby and the hospital, but on a fairly quiet road.

"Wow, it's stunning." Zoe said,

"It's perfect." Max followed.

"We haven't seen inside yet." Zoe replied.

"I've got a feeling." Max smiled at Zoe.

"And have you ever bought a house before. No." She said, then the estate agent pulled up and got out his car.

"Nice to meet you I'm Mr Coulson." The Estate Agent said.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Dr Hanna but you can call me Zoe, and this is my partner Max." Zoe replied.

"Nice to meet you." Mr Coulson shook Max's hand. He led them into the house, unlocking the blue front door.

"It matches your dress Zo." Max told Zoe, finding it very difficult to draw his eyes away from her bum.

"And my shoes," she added, "although somehow I know that's not what you're looking at." They smiled. Max thought Zoe looked even more beautiful when she smiled, younger and happier. It made her eyes twinkle and glitter as if her worries had disappeared.

As they walked around the house, Max and Zoe came to like it even more, the ensuite in the master bedroom had a massive shower, something Max rather liked the idea of, the lounge was cosy but big, Zoe liked the idea of spending evenings snuggled on the sofa with Max, watching TV and eating takeaways.

"So what do you think?" Mr Coulson said once they had finished looking round.

"I love it." Max and Zoe both said simultaneously, grinning at each other.

"Actually, I'd like to make an offer of seven seven five." Zoe said, her eyes once again twinkling.

"Wow," the estate agent said, lost for words, "I'll phone the vendor." And he went and stood in one corner of the front garden, and began speaking on his phone.

"You know, you were smiling the whole time we were looking round." Max said to Zoe, he was always amazed at how in love with her he was.

"You were meant to be looking at the house, not at me." Zoe joked, smiling. He caught her hand in his and squeezed.

"I love you so much." He told her, he knew he said it a lot but he meant it.

"I love you too." She replied, and they leaned together and kissed passionately, not heatedly but lovingly.

"Congratulations, you just bought a house." Mr Coulson said, interrupting their special moment.

"Wow." Max said, squeezing Zoe's hand and smiling, she smiled back.

"Thank you very much, I suppose I should give you my contact details." Zoe said, finally drawing her gaze away from Max.

Zoe and Mr Coulson exchanged contact details, while a Max phoned Robyn. The previous night they'd agreed to tell Robyn, as she was Max's sister as long as she promised not to tell anyone else.

"Hi, Robyn, it's Max." He said, taking the phone to his ear.

"Why are you calling me? Where are you?" Robyn asked, obviously confused.

"Ermmm, are you at work?" Max questioned, hoping the answer would be no.

"Actually I'm not, I was only working a half shift today." Robyn replied, unsure of what was going on.

"Can we meet for coffee, I want you to meet my girlfriend, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone." Max told her.


	7. Something Old

**I'm really in a writing mood today so I thought I'd treat you all and post another chapter. I am so excited for what I have planned, it makes me smile just thinking about it. Sorry about all the dialogue but it has some Zax at the end. Xx**

Robyn walked over to Costa to meet Max and his new girlfriend. It must be serious, she thought, he'd never introduced her to his girlfriends before.

As she walked through the door she saw Max, he waved at her to catch her attention. He was sitting with a women with a sleek brunette bob, rather like Zoe's.

"Robyn." Max exclaimed, "This is my girlfriend, Zoe." Robyn gasped out loud, never in a million years did he think Max would ever go out with anyone like Zoe.

"Hi Robyn, I take it from your expression that this is a bit of shock." Zoe said, grinning at Robyn's awestruck expression.

"You're having a laugh." She replied, unable to keep her mouth from dropping open in shock.

"No," Max said, he and Zoe very close to bursting into fits of giggles, "in fact, why don't we prove it." He and Zoe shared a passionate snog in front of Robyn

"Don't tell anyone though, not till we're ready." Max told her, once he finally pulled away from Zoe.

"Don't worry, I won't," Robyn promised, "and to be honest, I don't think anyone would believe me anyway."

"Ok, do you want a coffee Robyn?" Zoe asked politely, feeling relieved that someone other than Dylan knew about their secret relationship.

"I'll just have an iced lemonade, if that's ok." Robyn replied, still shocked at Max's girlfriend.

"I'll be back in a sec," Zoe said. Robyn reached for her purse. "Don't worry, I'll pay, my treat, ok, one black coffee, one iced lemonade and a triple shot macchiato with milk." Zoe recounted. She walked over to the counter and ordered, grabbing a few napkins. She turned around to look at Max and his sister as she waited for the drinks, Max was obviously still trying to convince Robyn that he was going out with their former boss.

"There you go," the server said politely, "One iced lemonade, one black coffee and a triple shot macchiato with milk."

"Thank you." Zoe replied, taking the drinks and carefully carrying them back to the table. She placed them down, Max and Robyn taking theirs.

"Ok, so how long have you been together?" Robyn asked, Zoe knew it would be the first of many questions.

"We had a kind of casual relationship from April till when Zoe left, then we got back together on New Years Eve." Max answered.

"Where are you staying?" Robyn asked, she knew Zoe was living with Dylan but she wasn't sure if Dylan would permit male company.

"At the moment we're staying with Dylan, but this morning we bought a house in Aisling Close." Zoe replied, Robyn's mouth dropped open, Zoe and Max simply snuggled closer together, squeezing each other's hands.

"You know what, I'm not going to ask anymore questions because it's just going to give me a heart attack from the shock." Robyn stated, folding her arms and leaning back in her chair.

"Ok," Max replied, "have you got any good ED gossip?"

"Honey and Ethan are going out." Robyn replied, eager to share gossip with anyone.

"Oh yeah, I saw them kissing at new year." Zoe said, eager for more gossip.

"Connie had a one night stand with Dylan and Grace walked in on them." Robyn shared, obviously very pleased that she had obtained the information.

"Never." Max's mouth dropped open.

"Connie, and Dylan?" Zoe asked in surprise.

"Poor Grace," Max stated, "how did you find out?"

"One word," Robyn replied, "Grace."

They continued talking for about half an hour until they decided to leave.

"Bye Robyn," Zoe said, "See you tomorrow."

"Bye Zoe," Robyn replied, "Thanks for the lemonade."

"No problem." She said, smiling at Robyn. Zoe and Max linked hands and got into Zoe's car.

When they got back to Dylan's, Max revealed that he had a present for Zoe. He gave her a box wrapped in stripy wrapping paper.

"What's this for?" Zoe asked.

"For being amazing," Max replied, "it'll all make sense in the end." Zoe carefully tore the wrapping paper to reveal a plain white box, she opened up the box. Inside were a pair of beautiful shoes, white high heels with lace and pearl details, Zoe absolutely loved them.

"Oh Max, they're gorgeous, I have a dress that'll match them perfectly." Zoe told, kissing him.

"They're vintage." He replied, smiling at his beautiful girlfriend.

"This is one of the reasons why I love you Max Walker." She said.

"I love you too Dr Hanna." He replied , squeezing her hand in his.


	8. Fifteen?

**Thank you again for the amazing reviews, I have some really exciting (to me at least) story lines I have planned, I hope you all carry on reading this as it's really amazing when I see all the lovely comments you guys have written.**

Zoe and Max awoke to the sound of Zoe's alarm.

"Can't we stay in bed a little longer?" Max pleaded as Zoe attempted to disentangle herself from Max's arms.

"I've got to get ready." She replied.

"I'll do your hair." Max suggested, tickling her.

"No, today I'm going to get ready and only once I'm completely ready will you see what I'm wearing." Zoe said matter of factly.

"Fine." Max huffed, "I'll get changed in the bathroom." Zoe always got her own way, she had him wrapped around her little finger and intended to keep it that way.

"Ok." She said, kissing him chastely on the lips and walking towards the wardrobe, showing off her naked body to Max. Max simply stared until he got some clothes together and walked towards the bathroom.

Max sat waiting on the sofa for about half an hour before Zoe finally emerged from the bedroom. She opened the door and Max couldn't help but stare, she looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing a white body hugging dress that showed of her curves, it went to just above her elbow and had black faux sleeve rolls and a black collar, accompanying the dress were the shoes Max had got her, complimenting the outfit perfectly.

"Wow." Was all he could say, mesmerised by the beauty standing in front of him.

"It's rude to stare." Zoe joked, drawing Max's gaze to her eyes.

"It's difficult not to stare at such an amazing women." He replied.

"Come on you or we'll be late for work." Zoe said, stalking off to the steps that lead to the deck. Max followed her, very pleased to be behind her on the stairs.

They exited the houseboat and walked towards Zoe's car.

"I'll drop you off round the corner, I want to think of a way we can tell everyone. Also, I think Connie might be on our case." Zoe said, her heels clicking noisily on the floor.

As they were driving to Holby City Hospital, Max put his hand on Zoe's leg, steadily moving it further up until it was resting on her inner thigh. Zoe was finding it very difficult to concentrate on the road as she became more and more aroused, helped by the fact Max was whispering dirty things in her ear.

"Max, do you want me to crash the car?" Zoe said, grinning at her very eager boyfriend. Max removed his hand from Zoe's thigh and instead started a conversation.

"Ok, let's play a game." Max declared, smiling.

"Alright then." Zoe agreed, Max always loved learning new things about Zoe.

"Ok, I have to guess how old you were when you lost your virginity." Max told her.

"Really Max." Zoe replied, grinning, she knew he would never guess.

"Fifteen." Max guessed, he thought Zoe must have been pretty young.

"Nope." She replied stoutly, he was nowhere near.

"Sixteen?" Max asked, surely she wasn't any older.

"No." Zoe told him, grinning.

"Fourteen." Max guessed.

"No, I was nineteen." Zoe replied, astounding Max.

"Really?" Max said, his mouth open.

"Yeah, I was really focused on studying till I went to uni, then I discovered clubbing, which eventually lead to one night stands." Zoe explained.

"Blimey." Max replied.

"Ok, for you I guess fifteen." Zoe said.

"Correct." Max replied still shocked at how old Zoe had been when she lost her virginity.

"Why are you so shocked?" Zoe asked him.

"I thought you'd have been a rebel." Max responded.

"Well on that note, I'll meet you in your office at ten sharp." Zoe told him, quickly kissing him before he got out the car.

"I'll look forward to it." Max replied, a cheeky grin plastered on his face as he shut the door and positively bounced along the pavement. Zoe drove up to the hospital and parked in her regular space, she stepped out of the door and strode towards the ED.

"I like your shoes Zoe." Tess commented as she walked through the doors of the ED.

"Thanks, they were a present, from my boyfriend." Zoe replied, smiling at the thought of Max.

"A boyfriend," Tess joked, "fancy that, Zoe Hanna, with her boyfriend."

"Shut up you." Zoe retorted, jogging up the stairs towards her office. When she was walking along the corridor, she passed Connie.

"Zoe, a word please, my office in five minutes." She said icily. Zoe sniggered as she walked away, what a life it must be to be rude to everyone. She put her coat and her bag down in her office, checked her phone and returned back downstairs to speak to Connie.

She strode towards her office and knocked on the door, she never knocked when it was Nick's office but she could hardly get away with it on Connie's watch.

"Come in." Connie said, sounding unusually emotional, usually her facade was as icy as Antarctica but today it seemed to have melted slightly.

"Are you ok?" Zoe asked as she opened the door.

"I'm fine." Connie replied, but she could see the tears brewing in her eyes.

"Connie, what's the matter?" Zoe asked firmly.

"It's Grace," Connie stuttered, "she's moved in with her grandma."

"Oh Connie, I'm sorry." Zoe said, although she wasn't particularly fond of Connie, she still felt sympathy for her.

"I wondered if you would like to move back in to my office, I feel a bit lonely" Connie said meakly.

"If that's what you want it would be lovely," Zoe said, she thought that underneath Connie's emotionless mask was a nice person, Zoe just had to set about getting rid of the mask.

"Thank you, I'll get one of the porters to bring down your desk and stuff." Connie said, still a little tearful.

"Ok, do you want a coffee?" Zoe asked, trying to comfort Connie.

"No, it's alright I've got one thanks." Connie replied, touched by Zoe's gesture, after all Connie had said to her it was a wonder she was nice to her.


	9. Something New

**this chapter had got a lot of medical stuff in it, I'm not a doctor so sorry if it's wrong, as always thanks for the amazing reviews. Xx**

Zoe sat in her new office doing paperwork, it was a fairly quite day in the ED so far and she was bored stiff. She glanced at the clock, 9.40 she had to wait another twenty minutes before she could sneak off to Max's so called office. She decided to text him.

What u doing?

Can I come early?

Spiderman. Xx ?

She sat waiting for a reply, around thirty seconds later her phone buzzed.

You can come now if you want.

Mary Jane. Xx ? ﾟﾘﾍ

Zoe smiled to herself, she slipped on the beautiful heels Max had got her, and strode out the door, she quietly, well as quietly as you can in heels, walked up the stairs and along the corridor to Max's office, checking for other people, she opened the door and quickly shut it behind her, turning the lock.

"What a lovely surprise," Max said seductivley.

Zoe lay in Max's arms regaining her breath as Max caressed her curves. Then her pager went of.

"Max, I better go." Zoe said standing up abruptly and pulling on her clothes.

"Ok, I'll see you later." Max replied, still lounging around on his chair.

"Zip please." Zoe asked Max, he sighed as he got up from his chair and pulled up Zoe's zip.

"I love you." He told her sealing their lips in a kiss.

"I love you too." She replied when their lips finally parted. Zoe unlocked the door and stuck her head out, all clear, she walked out the room, shutting the door behind her and striding down to the ED.

"About time Zoe." Connie said.

"Sorry I was in the loo." Zoe lied, inwardly smiling.

"Ok, we have a major RTC coming in, Ethan and Lily, you take cubicles, everyone else with the major casualties." Connie shouted, the consultants all followed her out to the front to await the ambulances.

"Ok what do we have Dixie?" Zoe asked, straightening her stethoscope.

"Right, this is Andrea McLean, forty eight, serious trauma to head and neck, possible fractured femur and a dislocated shoulder, sats are at ninety three, Resps twenty, bp forty over twenty." Zoe winced.

"Ok, I think we're looking at an internal bleed." She said.

"Heart rate seventy, KOed at scene, regained consciousness in the ambulance, she's had ten of morphine." Dixie finished.

"Ok on my count one, two, three." Zoe called, hauling her patient onto the bed.

"Ok, can I have the fast scanner please, order a head and neck CT, three units of o neg and cross match nine, lofty, over here please for the shoulder."

"Ok Andrea, we're just going to relocate your shoulder it may hurt but it'll be a lot better once we've done it." Lofty told the patient, holding the arm as Zoe popped it back into position.

"Ok, let's see what we're working with." Zoe said as she was handed the fast scanner, she moved it to the heart as she noticed a large bruise there, "ok, there it is, a hemopericardiam, I think she's torn her aota, can we call ortho and get them down hear immediately." Robyn rushed over to the phone and called the surgeons.

"They're not free for half an hour." Robyn told Zoe.

"Well we'll have to do it ourselves, Robyn please can you get the rupture kit, Cal I'll need you scrubbed up, you'll be assisting." Zoe called, putting on the ugly overalls and kicking her heels to a sheltered spot where they were not at risk of blood stains.

"Ok mrs McLean we're going to give you anaesthetic to perform a surgery on your chest, can you tell me where it hurts?" Zoe spoke to the patient.

"My chest, my head, my neck and my right thigh." Andrea told Zoe.

"Ok Andrea can you wiggle your toes for me." Zoe said, looking down at her patient's wiggling toes. "That's great we're just giving you the anaesthetic now." Zoe injected the needle into her hand, it was a fast acting anaesthetic in order to give them as much time as possible to suture her ruptured artery.

Once sure Andrea was fully under and the area was prepped Zoe made the first incision, immediately noticing the amount of blood.

"Suction please." She called, Robyn, who had been standing by with the suction moved it to the wound.

"Clamps." Zoe said, clamping the blood vessel, "needle." She carefully stitched the wound and removed the clamps. "We need ortho down here now." She finished forcefully.

"CTs ready but ortho still need another ten." Lofty called from the phone.

"Ok let's get her CTed, we'll have to hope the stitching doesn't rupture." Zoe replied, walking alongside the bed as Max pushed it, finally her shoes were returned to her feet.

"Very impressive." Max complimented, grinning at his secret girlfriend.

"We're you watching?" Zoe asked, grinning back.

"Maybe." Max replied secretively. Zoe simply rolled her eyes and walked into the viewing room for the CT scanner. She examined the pictures produced.

"I can't see anything, just bruising," Zoe told the synographer.

"It looks pretty clear to me." He replied, he looked down at her feet, wondering why you would wear high heels to work in a hospital.

"Great, ortho should be down by now." Zoe said, walking out the small room, her heels clicking loudly on the floor. As they walked into resus they saw the ortho team walking in. Zoe filled them in on the patient, telling them that they'd put a cast on her leg as they were pretty sure it was a simple spiral fracture of the femur but that she'd need it x rayed once she retuned from surgery.

The ortho pods wheeled her off to the lift leaving Zoe, Cal and some nurses in resus.

"Great work team." She congratulated them, walking to the toilet to get cleaned up.

When she emerged she went back to the office her and Connie shared, she noticed a small package on her desk, she read the label.

Something New, from MJ. Xx

Zoe smiled, but wondered why all of a sudden Max was getting her presents. She opened the box to reveal a beautiful necklace with two letters entwined in each other. Z and M. She immediately put it on, smiling at the thought of her thoughtful boyfriend.


	10. Truth or Dare

**sorry this chapters a bit short I've been super busy recently. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for the amazing reviews as always. Xx**

After the major RTC earlier in the day, Zoe has decided to take the team out for a drink after work, they all walked towards the pub in small groups and somehow Zoe and Max had managed to walk by themselves at the back, away from the prying eyes of Holby ED's staff.

"Thank you for the necklace, I love it." Zoe told Max, smiling.

"I'm glad you like it." Max replied, smiling at the plan in his head. They linked hands and walked the rest of the way to the pub. Once they reached the pub their hands separated and the team sat down for a well deserved drink.

Around halfway through their drinks Robyn suggested that they played a game of truth or dare, Cal had suggested strip poker but everyone else decided against it.

"Ok Zoe, truth or dare?" Robyn asked her, grinning.

"Dare, my life is to embarrassing to do truth." She replied, it had been a long time since she'd played truth or dare and secretly she was rather looking forward to it.

"Ok, I dare you to sing a romantic duet with Max on the karaoke, and at the end you have to kiss." Robyn declared, pleased at the dare she had made up. Zoe inwardly smiled but pretended to be annoyed, she stood up, sighed and began walking over to the karaoke, closely followed by Max.

Robyn told the karaoke master to play Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me by George Michael and Elton John. As it was Zoe's dare she sang the main part by George Michael and Max sang the Elton John part. Zoe grew red very quickly as she was singing despite Max continuously telling her she was amazing, Zoe was amazed at how good at singing Max was and by the end of it she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

When the song finished she went to sit down but Robyn insisted that she kiss Max, so they kissed, they pretended that it was awkward so that the others wouldn't guess their relationship.

"That whole thing is going on youtube tonight." Cal called out enthusiastically, Zoe buried her head in her hands in embarrassment.

"Ok, Cal, truth or dare?" Zoe asked Cal, wanting to give him payback.

"Dare." Cal announced manly.

"I dare you to go up to that male bar tender and start flirting, he's gay and I want you to flirt till you kiss him." Zoe told him, very much enjoying this. Cal sighed and walked over to the bar and began flirting, eventually after about five minutes of flirting they kissed, Cal went bright red as he turned around to see everyone watching him and Max videoing.

"By the way, I'm straight." Cal told the bartender before walking back to the table, utterly mortified.

"That's what happens if you mess with Doctor Hanna." Zoe joked.

They carried on playing for about another five rounds of drinks until they decided to call it a night, however the night still produced some good memories including Robyn doing a Fat Amy dance on the floor, Rita pretending to be so drunk that she was challenging a dog to an arm wrestling fight and Ethan standing on the table singing Poker Face.

"That was fun." Max said to Zoe once they finally left the pub.

"Yeah, I hope Cal doesn't put that video on youtube though." She replied, cringing at the thought.

They walked to Holby Harbour hand in hand, in a comfortable silence. Once they finally reached Dylan's houseboat, Zoe opened her bag to get the keys out, once she finally found them she unlocked the door and walked down into the boat, closely followed by Max.

"And what time do you call this?" Dylan asked moodily, looking down at his watch.

"Errr, eleven o clock." Zoe replied, slightly tipsily.

"Well good night." Dylan said sternly, promptly standing up from his chair and disappearing into his bedroom.

"What a load of sunshine he is." Max joked, before he and Zoe entered Zoe's bedroom. Zoe and Max, both completely exhausted, collapsed onto the bed with all their clothes on and fell asleep.

"Good morning beautiful." Max said to Zoe once the alarm had woken them both. Zoe glanced over to the clock.

"Max we've got half an hour." Zoe said, rushing to get out of bed.

"We're already dressed." Max replied, he knew it would wind Zoe up, but she was sexy when she was angry.

"Max, I can't wear the same thing two days in a row." Zoe said agitatedly, as she rummaged through her wardrobe looking for something to wear. She threw on a dress and slipped on her heels, then she sat down at her dressing table and began applying makeup while Max straightened her hair.

"I don't get why women are so fussed about what you look like, you're beautiful anyway." Max said, he really did think Zoe was more beautiful without makeup.

"When you said, you're beautiful, were you talking about me, or women in general?" Zoe flirted.

"About you of course." Max stated, putting down the hair straighteners and massaging Zoe shoulders amorously.

"Good." She replied, relaxing as Max's hands slid down her back.

Zoe finally finished her makeup, grabbed her keys and a doughnut and ran up the stairs and out of the houseboat.

"Max, have you got a driving license?" Zoe asked curiously.

"Yep, why?" He replied. Zoe simply chucked him the car keys.

"Why is the car here?" Max asked, dumbfounded, "we walked home last night."

"Dylan brought it home." Zoe replied, before jumping into the passenger side.

"Remind me again why I'm driving." Max said once he'd got into the car.

"Because I want to eat breakfast before work." Zoe replied, indicating to the doughnut in her hand. Max pulled a face at her so she engulfed him in a kiss.


	11. Spiderman Saves The Day

**sorry this is really short I've been super busy recently and have had zero time to write, sorry! **

Zoe's car cruised into the ED car park, she glanced around.

"Quick, get out, before anyone sees." She said hurriedly.

"Love you." Max replied, smiling at his girlfriend.

"I love you too," Zoe returned, "but you really need to get out the car." Max opened his car door and quickly leaped out. A

Zoe waited for a couple of minutes before getting out herself, she strode into the ED, her shoes clicking loudly on the floor.

"Zoe, there's been a bus crash and they need a doctor." Tess called as she walked Zoe walked towards her office.

"Ok, I'll just get changed." She replied, hurrying off to get into a green jumpsuit.

"Where are you going?" Max asked Zoe as she walked out of the staff room wearing a boiler suit and thick leather boots.

"To save some lives." She replied, "don't worry I'll be fine."

"Be careful." Max said, he was worried. The last time she'd gone on a shout she'd been trapped in a helicopter.

"I love you Mary Jane." Zoe smiled.

"I love you too Spiderman." Max smiled back, still hesitant.

"I'll be fine." Zoe said, trying to reassure her boyfriend, before running off to join Dixie and Ian in the ambulance.

When they arrived at the scene she found a double decker bus turned over, trapping the bonnet of a car. Zoe jumped out the ambulance and ran over to the fire crew.

"What can I do?" She asked them, eager for a bit of action.

"The people in the car are trapped, they need medical attention but we can't get them out yet, there's a mother and her daughter." The fireman replied, "the people from the bus have been evacuated, the paramedics are attending to them."

"Ok, I'll go see the people in the car." Zoe said, gesturing for Dixie to join her.

"Hiya I'm Dixie and this is Zoe, can you hear us?" Dixie asked the people in the car. There was no reply.

"Ok Dix, I'm gonna go in and see what I can do." Zoe told the paramedic.

"Ok, shout if you need anything." Dixie replied. Max's words were echoing in her ears, it began to worry her, she took a moment to calm herself before proceeding.

"Will do." Zoe called as she began climbing into the trapped car. She saw two people, a women, in her thirties and a young girl, probably about five. The mother was closest to Zoe so she took her pulse, a weak pulse beat out.

"Are you a ambalance dwiver?" The little girl asked, she had a cut on her arm but apart from that she looked fine.

"I'm a doctor sweetie," Zoe replied, smiling at the little girl, "you can call me Zoe, can you tell me where it hurts?"

"My arm doctor Zoe." The little girl said, "My name's Alice by the way, Alice Gornall."

"Does it hurt anywhere else Alice?" Zoe asked, trying to keep the situation calm. Alice shook her head.

"I think we ought to get you out the car." Zoe stated, "Do you think if I help you'll be able to climb out?"

"Yes." Alice replied boldly, nodding.

"Dixie, I'm going to try and get the little girl out, can you help please." Zoe called out the car,

"Just coming Zo." Dixie said, jogging over to the car.

"This is Alice, compound fracture to the arm, otherwise healthy." Zoe said.

"Alright Alice, can you undo your seatbelt and climb over to Zoe." Dixie told the little girl, she quickly undid the seatbelt, climbed over to Zoe and out the window to safety.

"I'll see to the mother." Zoe called out the window as Dixie took Alice over to a parked ambulance. "Hello, can you hear me?" Zoe said loudly to the woman, lying in the car, she had a nasty bruise on her forehead and her legs looked trapped beneath the steering wheel. There was a small moan in response. "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me." Zoe took her hand and she felt a tiny squeeze. "That's great, if you have any pain in your neck or back squeeze twice, if not squeeze once." She felt two squeezes on her hand. "Ok you're doing great, Dixie can I get a neck brace and spinal board ASAP."

A few moments later Dixie hurried over with a spinal board and neck brace. She passed it in to Zoe, she slowly reclined the seat and slide the spinal board under her back, tightening it, then she put on the neck brace and fastened it securely, making sure everything was tightly fixed. Zoe and Dixie, with the help of the fire crew managed to hoist the women out of the car and into the ambulance where they quickly drove back to the hospital.

"Ok Connie, this is Sarah Gornall according to her daughter, head injury to the forehead, complaining of back and neck pain, and suspected fractures to the left tibia, fibula, patella and metatarsals and right phalanges, heart rate ninety, sats ninety five, bp one hundred and twenty over eighty, Resps twenty, briefly KOed at the scene, she's had ten of morphine.


	12. Something Borrowed

**sorry it's short again I have been so busy, My sister just got a new horse so now we have three to look after and I am getting mountains of homework. Hope you enjoy. Xxx**

"Ok Zo, do you mind if I take this while you get cleaned up?" Connie asked.

"Yeah that's fine, I'll come and see how she's doing once I'm changed." Zoe replied, heading off to her office.

"Oh Zoe, by the way, there's a present on your desk." Connie called back as she followed the trolly into resus.

Zoe entered the code on the door and strode into the office, immediately noticing the present on her desk. She read the note:

To Spiderman,

These are family heirlooms, I borrowed them off my mum, I suppose they're yours now.

Something borrowed from Mary Jane.

Zoe unwrapped the present and opened up the box, a pair of beautiful diamond earrings, twinkling in the light. Absolutely beautiful. She took out the earrings she was wearing and put the new ones on.

"I'm glad you like them." Max said, appearing in the doorway.

"They're amazing, thank you." Zoe replied, smiling at her secret boyfriend.

"My office in ten?" Max asked cheekily.

"I can't, I'll text you when I'm free" Zoe replied, "Now you better go so I can get changed." Max walked out the office and shut the door behind him.

"How's it going Connie?" Zoe asked, once she'd got changed and made her way to resus.

"She's completely shattered her lower leg and knee, she's fractured two vertebra but the spinal cord's clear and her skull's fractured but no brain damage." Connie replied, listing her many injuries.

"Nasty, where's her daughter?" Zoe asked, once she'd looked at Sarah's x-rays.

"Cubicles," Connie said, "she was asking for you."

"Well, I'll go and see her then." Zoe said, striding out of resus and into cubicles.

"Hello Alice." Zoe said once she'd located her.

"Hello doctor Zoe." Alice replied, "how's mummy?"

"Mummy just needs a bit of time for her body to get better." Zoe told her.

"Will she be Okay?" The little girl asked, she was scared for her mum.

"She'll be absolutely fine, and daddy's on the way." Zoe replied, trying to reassure her.

"Excuse me," a tall man interrupted, "I'm Brendon, Brendon Gornall, Alice's dad."

"Daddy." Alice squealed excitedly.

"I'll leave you to it." Zoe said, exiting the cubicle and closing the curtain. She took her phone out of her pocket and texted Max.

To MaryJane

I'm free, wanna meet in your office,

I'll be there in five.

Spiderman. Xxx

Only a few seconds later her phone buzzed.

Sounds perfect Spiderman,

I'm on it like an Easter bonnet.

MaryJane xxxxx

Zoe smiled to herself as she made her way to Max's room.

An hour later...

"Zoe, where the heck have you been?" Connie asked harshly as Zoe strolled into resus with a big grin on her face.

"In cubicles, then on a break." Zoe smiled, she felt happy and carefree since her excursion to Max's cupboard.

"It's Alice, she's deteriorated." Connie told Zoe.

"Low BP, heart rate dropping, it looks like an internal bleed." She said.

"She's had a full body CT and it's completely clear." Connie contradicted.

"She had a compound fracture, maybe it's septic shock." Zoe pointed out.

"It's too early." Connie replied, "she wouldn't be showing signs yet."

"Unless she's anaemic." Zoe said.

"Ok, can we get bloods ASAP, send them to the lab and test for a b twelve deficiency." Connie called out, Robyn immediately took bloods while Rita called up the lab.

"I'll speak to the father." Zoe told Connie and she walked over to the father.

"Is she going to be okay?" Brendon asked her.

"Yes, we think she's suffering from septic shock syndrome," Zoe reassured, "has she been suffering from headaches, or dizziness, stiff arms and legs?"

"Yes, she's always complains that her legs are stiff when she wakes up, and quite a lot of the time she has headaches, and she gets dizzy when she does PE at school." Mr Gornall replied, worried for his daughter.

"Right, thank you." Zoe said, to the doctor.

"Dad says she's showings signs of anaemia." She said to Connie.

"Right." She replied, thinking things through.

"I suggest dopamine, dobutamine and IV antibiotics, insert an endotracheal oxygen flow." Zoe told Connie.

"Ok, I'll tell the nurses, we can up the antibiotics once we're sure it's septic shock." She replied.


	13. Something Blue?

**sorry it's short but it kind of fits as a chapter. Also sorry I meant to update last night but my dog gave birth to nine puppies. Xx**

"Hi Sarah, are you feeling better?" Zoe asked Alice's mum, once she'd located her in CDU.

"Yeah, but I'm already bored from not being able to stand up." Sarah replied, "how's Alice?"

"We think she's got something called septic shock, it's quite a serious infection, but we caught it early and so we think she'll be completely fine," Zoe answered, "however, it did highlight that she's suffering from anaemia."

"Anaemia?" Sarah said, "but she has a perfect diet."

"Well sometimes it can be unrelated to diet, sometimes it can be caused by a condition called pernicious anaemia when the body can't absorb the vitamin properly, once she's better she'll be able to have tests to find the reason for her anaemia but right now we're focusing on getting rid of her infection." Zoe replied, trying to keep Sarah calm.

"Can I see her." Sarah asked.

"Yep, I'll get a porter to take you over before she goes to intensive care." Zoe answered.

"Did I hear that somebody needed a porter?" Max asked, poking his head round the curtain.

"Have you been following me or something?" Zoe said, smiling at him.

"I was hypnotised by your earrings." Max joked.

"Well, Mrs Gornall here wants to see her daughter in resus. So, I suggest you take your eyes off the earrings." Zoe flirted, Max simply grinned at her. He then took off the brakes and wheeled the bed to resus.

"Why has she got a tube in her mouth?" Sarah asked, once they reached Alice's bed in resus.

"She's been intubated so her body can get plenty of oxygen without much effort." Zoe replied. They wheeled her closer to Alice so their beds were next to each other, Sarah took Alice's hand in hers and simply lay there for a while.

"I'll leave you to it, call if you need anything." Zoe announced, walking out of resus with Max.

"Only twenty minutes left before the end of the shift." Max told Zoe, he could hardly wait for his shift to end so he could do what he really wanted to do.

"Got something in mind then?" Zoe flirted.

"Yeah, you could say that." He replied, smiling to himself, then they walked their separate ways.

Max walked over to Zoe's car and found her sitting in the passenger side. She handed him the keys and they drove back to Dylan's, but once they reached Holby harbour, Max carried on driving into the centre of Holby.

"Max, where are we going?" Zoe asked, curious to what they were doing.

"I'm taking you to dinner." He announced, pulling up outside Holby's poshest restaurant.

"Max, this is the most expensive place in Holby." Zoe said to him.

"Well, you're worth a million pounds, if not more." He flirted back. They both stepped out the car and walked into the Michelin star restaurant.

"Hi, I have a reservation in the name of Walker." Max told the waiter.

"Yes, please follow me." He replied, in a very posh sounding accent. They followed him through the restaurant until they reached a small, intimate table. They sat down and were handed the menus.

"You can have whatever you want." Max told his girlfriend, she looked even more beautiful in candlelight.

"I'll have the red mullet for the starter and the venison for the main." Zoe told him, touched by what he'd done for her.

"That's just what I'm having." He said to her, smiling at their similar tastes. Zoe picked up the wine list.

"They have Cloudy Bay, it's the nicest wine I've ever had, it's quite pricey though." She said.

"Don't worry about the price." Max told her, smiling.

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter asked.

"Yes, we are, please could we have a bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc," Max announced.

"Yes, and for starters?" The waiter asked.

"Two red mullets." Max replied. "And for the main we'll have town venisons."

"Thank you, you're food should be around ten minutes." The waiter told them, before walking to the other side of the restaurant.

"Zoe, you know those presents I've been getting you, they weren't just presents, they were part of something bigger." Max told her, Zoe nodding.

"First I got you something old, then something new, then something borrowed." He said.

"And next it's something blue." She finished, her mouth dropping open as Max kneeled down on the floor.

"Zoe Hanna, will you make me the happiest man alive by agreeing to marry me?" He asked, holding out a silver engagement ring, with a sapphire glinting away at the centre.

"Of course I will Max, you make me feel alive again, more alive than ever, and you make me laugh." She replied, allowing him to slide the ring onto her finger.

"I love you." He said to her.

"I love you too." She replied.


	14. Dr Ghezzi

**my life is so hectic, my horse got Ill this morning so now there's one more thing to worry about.**

"So what do you want for dessert?" Max asked his new fiancée.

"You." Zoe flirted.

"I suppose that's a possibility." He flirted back.

"Can we have the bill please." Zoe said as the waiter walked past their table.

"Certainly, would you like a taxi called?" He asked.

"Yes please, we can get the car in the morning." Zoe replied, eager to have Max alone. They payed the bill and got into the taxi waiting for them outside.

"Holby harbour please." Max said to the driver, sliding his hand up Zoe's thigh.

By the time they reached Dylan's houseboat they could barely keep their hands of each other and were both very aroused.

As soon as they were in Zoe's bedroom their clothes were torn off and they collapsed onto the bed for a night of passion.

Zoe awoke with her head on Max's chest.

"Morning beautiful." He said, once she'd woken up.

"Have you been watching me?" Zoe asked.

"I've been admiring the beautiful women lying on top of me." He replied, grinning at how lucky he was to be engaged to such a beautiful women.

"Well the women lying on top of you must be pretty special if she makes you grin like that." Zoe flirted.

"She most certainly is." Max flirted back, "she's the most special women in the world, and she's also my fiancée." They kissed sweetly and Zoe leant over to check her phone.

"We should probably get up." She told him, sitting up and stretching. Max simply stayed lying down mesmerised by the sight in front of him. As she got out of bed Max couldn't help but stare.

"Max, there's a new doctor starting today, I need to set a good impression." Zoe told him, rummaging through her wardrobe for a dress. She picked out a dress and walked over to the drawers for underwear.

"You don't need to wear underwear Zo." Max said.

"I'm not going to work without a bra on, however, if you promise to be very good, i won't wear knickers." She flirted.

"Deal." He replied, jumping out of bed to put some clothes on.

Once they were both dressed they set about their usual routine of Max doing hair and Zoe doing makeup. Then they walked into the kitchen to grab some breakfast.

"Please could you speak slightly quieter, I'd rather not wake up to hear what Zoe's wearing under her dress." Dylan said, turning slightly pink as Zoe and Max burst into fits of giggles. Zoe grabbed a couple of croissants out the cupboard while Max made some coffee. Then they settled down on the sofa to have their breakfast.

"You'll get crumbs on the sofa." Dylan told them.

"We probably will." Zoe replied, feeling cheeky.

"Is that an engagement ring?" Dylan asked, noticing the ring on her finger.

"Yes it is." Zoe replied bluntly, before kissing Max chastely.

"We better hurry up, we'll be walking to work today." Max announced, Zoe stood up from the sofa and Max quickly followed. They walked to work hand in hand until they reached a couple of blocks away were Max held back and walked a bit behind Zoe.

Once Zoe reached the ED she was greater by Connie.

"Morning Dr Hanna," she said, "is that an engagement ring?"

"As a matter of fact it is." She announced, smiling.

"Congratulations." Connie said, before striding off to treat a patient. Zoe dropped her stuff in her office and walked to cubicles to treat a patient.

"What have we got today?" Zoe asked Charlie, hoping for something interesting.

"Suspected broken arm in four, abdominal pains in five, and a new doctor in reception." He replied.

"I completely forgot, I'll of and get her, I'm meant to be taking her round." Zoe said, rushing off to meet the new doctor.

"Hi I'm Daria Ghezzi." The new doctor said, she was about Zoe's height with dark, frizzy, shoulder length hair.

"Hi, I'm Zoe Hanna," Zoe replied, "Daria Ghezzi, is that Italian?"

"Yes, I was born in Italy but grew up in England." Daria answered.

"Ok, I'll show you around then we can treat some patients." Zoe said.

Zoe gave her a tour round the ED, introduced her to staff and assigned her a locker in the staff room.

"Right Charlie, I will be seeing what Dr Ghezzi's got, which cubicle would you recommend?" Zoe asked.

"Cubicle seven, a bit of detective work needed." Charlie replied, shaking hands with Daria.

"Thank you." Zoe said, leading Daria over to cubicle seven.

"Hello, I'm Dr Ghezzi, and this is Dr Hanna, please could you tell us what's wrong." Daria said to the patient, a teenage girl.

"I keep feeling dizzy and the other day I fainted." The girl said.

"Ok, how old are you?" Daria asked.

"Seventeen." The girl replied.

"Have you noticed an irregular heartbeat, or palpitations?" Dr Ghezzi questioned.

"I'm not sure." The girl said nervously.

"Is there any chance you could be pregnant?" Daria asked.

"No." She replied.

"Ok, I'm going to order an ECG to check your heartbeat, and if that comes back clear we'll run some more tests." Dr Ghezzi told the girl, before walking out of the cubicle and closing the curtains behind her.

"Lofty, please could you order an ECG for the girl in cubicle seven." Zoe said to the nurse.

"Yep, I'm on it." Lofty replied, jogging over to the phone.

"Good work, what are you thinking it might be?" Zoe asked Daria.

"I think it might be arrhythmia, I noticed her lips looked slightly blue." She replied confidently.

"I wondered if you'd spot that, but well done, if the ECG shows arrhythmia we'll order some bloods to find the cause." Zoe replied, "I'm sure you'll be fine on your own if you need anything just come and find me." Zoe walked outside for a cigarette.

"Hello Zoe." Max said, he'd been waiting fifteen minutes for her to come on a cigarette break.

"Hello Max," Zoe replied, stealing his cigarette from out his mouth.

"I was smoking that you know." Max flirted, pretending to be cross with Zoe.

"And I'm smoking it now." She replied, grinning at her fiancée. he knocked it back off her.

"Well I should probably be going back in now anyway." Zoe said walking back in to the ED, as she was walking back in she passed Daria in the door.

"Going out for some fresh air then?" Zoe asked her.

"Yeah, just a little break." Daria replied, smiling at Zoe then walking outside. Once she was out of the ED she went and stood next to Max.

"So are you single?" She flirted, she'd caught sight of him earlier and he'd caught her fancy.

"No." He replied abruptly.

"So, you don't like long term relationships." She said, desperately trying to get him to flirt back.

"Actually, I have a fiancée, so I would leave it if I were you." He snapped, throwing his cigarette on the floor, stubbing it out with his foot, then walked briskly back inside.


	15. My Office In Ten?

**sorry for lack of update, life has a strange way of making everything happen at once. X**

Meet in your office in ten?

Spiderman x

Max read the text from Zoe, he was still in a bad mood from the new doctor. He couldn't decide whether to tell Zoe or not.

Ok, I'll see you then.

Love MaryJane x

He smiled to himself, a mid afternoon romp with Zoe would put him in a good mood.

Zoe's phone buzzed, she read the text and smiled to herself. She loved sneaking upstairs for a quickie, it made her feel young again.

"Who you getting texts from then?" Tess asked, "your mystery man?"

"My mystery fiancée now." Zoe replied.

"Well congratulations." Tess said, shocked, Zoe never seemed the type to settle down properly.

"Thank you." Zoe said, allowing Tess to admire her ring.

"Zoe, I have our patient's results, she has hyperkalemia, it showed up on her bloods." Daria told Zoe.

"Yeah, I thought it might be, tell her to cut down on foods high in potassium, Tess will show you how to order stuff from pharmacy." Zoe replied, smiling at the new doctor.

"Thank you." She said, following Tess to the computer. Zoe decided to sneak off, ready to meet Max.

She turned the handle of the door and snuck inside.

"Hello." He greeted her with.

"Hello Mr Walker." She replied, sitting down opposite him, "are you alright? You seem a bit off." She was worried, he was in a perfectly good mood this morning. Max's couldn't decide whether to tell her or not. Secrets break a relationship, he told himself.

"The new doctor, she keeps trying to pull me." Max admitted sheepishly, a little worried how she would react.

"That little cow." Zoe said possessively, "you're mine."

"Well why don't you show me," Max flirted, "show me that I'm your's." Allowing Zoe to take control.

"Zoe, where have you been, I've been looking for you for ages." Tess said, once she finally made her way back to cubicles.

"Sorry." Zoe replied.

"Anyway, I want to speak to you about..." Tess began but was interrupted by Zoe's phone ringing.

"Sorry I've got to take this I'll be two minutes." Zoe said, answering the phone, it was her solicitor.

"Dr Hanna, the paperwork is all finished you just need to sign and then you can move in." Her solicitor told her.

"Ok that's great, can I pop round about quarter past five?" Zoe replied.

"Yeah, that would be perfect." He answered.

"Ok bye." Zoe said.

"Bye." The solicitor said, before Zoe hung up.

"Sorry Tess, what were you saying?" Zoe asked, as she slipped her phone back into her pocket.

"The ED are having a valentines day party at the pub, everyone's bringing their spouses and those that are single are going to be set up on a mystery date." Tess explained, "I thought you could invite your fiancée."

"I'll speak to him about it but I think we're going out for dinner, sorry." Zoe said, lying on the spot.

"That's a shame." Tess said, she really wanted to meet Zoe's fiancée, anybody good enough to get Zoe to settle down must be pretty good. Tess walked back to her office and Zoe walked over to Robyn to get a patient to treat.

"Cubicle four, child complaining of loss of vision." Robyn read out, handing Zoe the notes.

"Thanks Robyn." She smiled.

"Zoe, is that an engagement ring?" Robyn said excitedly, she'd always wanted Max to marry an amazing women like Zoe.

"Yes it is, but stop squeeling, it'll annoy the patients." Zoe replied, laughing at Robyn's reaction. They walked into the cubicle together.

"Hi, I'm Zoe and this is Robyn." Zoe told the scared looking child, "what's your name?"

"Hannah." The little girl said, tentatively.

"That's my surname." Zoe said, trying to get Hannah to relax, "can you tell me what's wrong?"

"I can't see anything out my right eye." Hannah said, looking worried.

"Can I have a look at it?" Zoe asked, smiling at Hannah.

"Yep." She replied. Zoe leaned over and looked into her eye.

"I think you've got a little bleed in your eye Hannah, don't worry it'll all be fine. What we're going to do is shine a little laser in your eye to stop it bleeding and then you'll get a few days off school while the blood goes away." Zoe explained, "Robyn please can you call optometry and tell them we have a paediatric case of Haemorrhage of the vitreous humor."

"I'm on it." Robyn replied, "do you need anything else?"

"Some extra pillows and an eye patch, and order some penicillin to clear up any infection." Zoe said, smiling at Hannah, "Hannah, can you tell me if you bumped your eye?"

"Yeah, I was watching Frozen and I was dancing on the sofa to Let It Go and I fell off and hit it on the coffee table." Hannah said, perking up at the mention of Frozen.

"Ouch, I bet that hurt." Zoe empathised, "I'm going to go now, but Robyn will look after you, ok."

"Okay, bye Zoe." Hannah said.

"Bye Hannah." Zoe replied, walking back to the island.

"Zoe." Max said, sneaking up behind her.

"Max." Zoe retorted, Max gave her a dirty grin.

"What a lovely engagement ring I notice on your finger." Max said.

"It's very nice isn't it, the person who chose it has impeccable taste." Zoe flirted.

"They must do, would you like a coffee?" Max asked, spoiling the moment slightly, but Zoe was in need of a coffee. Living with Max depleted the amount of sleep she got.

"Yes that would be lovely thank you," Zoe replied, "oh and by the way, I got a from my solicitor and he says we just need to sign the papers tonight and then me and my fiancée can move in whenever we want."

"That's great news." Max said, grinning, he was very pleased, it would be lovely not to have a Dylan telling them off for eating on the sofa, or damaging the bed, then he scooted off to get coffee.

Once he reached the coffee shop he was annoyed to find Dr Ghezzi ordering a coffee.

"Max, still don't fancy a drink tonight?" Daria flirted.

"I'm engaged, what part of that don't you understand." Max replied angrily.

"That's what they all say, and even if you are engaged, an affair never hurt anyone." Daria said, desperately trying to pull Max.

"Are you crazy, I would never ever cheat on my fiancée, and you must be pretty stupid to think that affairs have no negative consequences." Max retorted, standing up straighter to look more imposing.

"Well, soon enough all the boys will be running back to me." Daria replied, keeping her aloof façade very solid.

"I highly doubt that." Max said, his anger heightening as she continued to flirt.

"Daria love, I'd give up if I were you, Max isn't into doctors, he'll only sleep with consultants." Honey interrupted.

"Low standards then." Daria said sarcastically, grabbing her coffee and striding off to the staff room.

"Thanks for helping me out the Honey." Max said relieved, trying to regain his normal breathing rate.

"No problem, but I wasn't joking about the consultant thing, it's pretty obvious about you and Hanna." Honey said.

"How do you know?" Max asked, worried that more people would find out.

"Longing stares, both of you going missing at the same time. But is watch out if I were you, Dr Ghezzi has a bit of a mental streak." Honey said, handing Max his coffee and ending the conversation by walking to one side to serve a customer.


	16. Ghezzi V Hanna

**sorry the updates haven't been very regular my life is just really hectic at the moment. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

"Coffee for doctor Hanna coming through." Max said, ducking in and out to give Zoe her coffee.

"Thank you Max." Zoe said, once he finally reached her.

"Dr Hanna." Daria interrupted.

"Yes, Dr Ghezzi." Zoe replied, slightly icily, the tension was thick in the air.

"I have an interesting case, I wondered if I could get a second opinion." She asked.

"You can get a second opinion." Zoe said, unwilling to help her but wanting to stay professional.

"This patient, he has xerosis, eczema, oral ulceration, diarrhoea and severe acne." Daria explained.

"Test his zinc levels, I'd put my money on a zinc deficiency. Is he vegan?" Zoe said abruptly.

"Oh I didn't think of that, I'll ask him if he's vegan." Daria replied, blushing slightly.

"Well you should have spotted it, it's fairly common, if someone has conditions unlike illness, go through the symptoms of deficiencies." Zoe said, trying to humiliate Daria.

"Yes, sorry Dr Hanna." Dr Ghezzi said, scooting back to her patient, it a seemed pretty obvious that it was a zinc deficiency now.

"Do you have something against her Dr Hanna?" Connie asked, she'd been standing watching the whole conversation.

"No, but I think a zinc deficiency is pretty easy to spot." Zoe said, trying to skirt round the real reason she had a go at Daria.

"Well, it wasn't great work on her part but I thought you were all about welcoming new people." Connie argued, still maintaining her professional air.

"Well, let's just say, some people don't deserve to be welcomed and she's one of them." Zoe replied, standing her ground.

"And what did she do to you?" Connie asked, intrigued as to why Zoe disliked Daria so much.

"She was making a certain member of staff rather uncomfortable." Zoe answered, trying not to reveal the truth.

"And who was that member of staff?" Connie questioned, eager to find out what Zoe knew.

"They've told me to keep it confidential, sorry." Zoe replied, desperately hoping Connie would give up interrogating her.

"Very well." Connie said, annoyed that she'd lost the battle. She strode off towards her office her shoes clicking loudly on the floor. Zoe took a sip from her coffee, she immediately spat it back into her cup.

"What is this Max?" Zoe asked, disgusted by the taste in her mouth.

"Honey gave it to me." Max answered innocently.

"It's probably some herbal thing, and it is not what I like to drink." Zoe declared, cross as she was in desperate need of some proper coffee.

"I'll get you some more." Max replied, taking Zoe's cup and heading back towards the coffee shop.

Then the red phone started ringing.

"Hello, Holby ED." Zoe answered.

"We have a patient with severe burns and an infant also with severe burns." The voice echoed out the phone.

"Ok thanks." Zoe replied, "ETA?"

"Four minutes." The voice said.

"Thank you." Zoe finished, hanging up the phone and calling attention.

"Ok, we have two severe burns patients coming in, one paediatric. Mrs Beauchamp and Dr Ghezzi together please, and I'll go I with Ethan, can I have Robyn, Lofty, Tess and Charlie in resus, Max be on standby."

"Dr Hanna, may I ask who's taking the paeds case?" Daria asked hoping for the chance to prove herself.

"I think that Ethan and I shall take it after you failed to diagnose a zinc deficiency this morning." Zoe said, Max smiled at his ferocious fiancée, she smiled back.

"Ok everyone let's go." Connie said, leading Daria, Zoe and Ethan outside to wait for the ambulances.

"Ok Ian, what have we got?" Zoe asked as Ian came out of the ambulance with a baby.

"This is Saskia, one, involved in a fire, severe burns to arms, legs, face and torso, breathing difficulties, Resps twenty five, pulse ninety, sats ninety one, BP one hundred over eighty." Ian said, carrying the baby through to resus.

"Ok Ian, take her over to the private bay." Zoe said, taking her stethoscope from around her neck to listen to Saskia's chest, "Tess can you get a burns kit, Ethan can you wrap, How much morphine has she had?"

"One." Ian replied.

"Well the intoxication for a baby of this size is four so can we have one of morphine please Robyn." Zoe said, listening to Saskia's chest, "Ok, we're going to have to intubate, Robyn please can you get the infant intubation kit, we'll need the smallest tube possible." Ethan finished wrapping the burns, and Robyn came over with the intubation kit.

After a few minutes of struggling they finally managed to get the tube down the baby's throat, they then attached the ventilator.

"Good work team, can someone call the burns unit, if they're not available we'll see if paeds can take her, for the time being Tess could you give her an infant sized bag of saline and some UV antibiotics, give her a fifth of the adult dose." Zoe said.

"Burns haven't got any beds but paeds will take her." Robyn called out from the phone.

"Ok, we'll take her up, I'll get Max." Zoe replied, walking out of the room and over to Max who had been watching Zoe through the window.

"Max, can you please take this little girl up to paeds." Zoe asked.

"Certainly m'lady." Max replied.

"What's with the whole m'lady thing?" Zoe asked, grinning at Max.

"Never mind." Max said, taking the breaks off Saskia's bed and pushing through the doors and along the corridor, Zoe decided to follow so she could speak to the paediatricians.

"Are you going to come to the solicitors with me tonight?" Zoe asked.

"Definitely and afterwards we're going to celebrate." Max replied, flashing Zoe a dirty grin.

"And what kind of celebration do you have in mind exactly?" Zoe said, grinning back at him.

"I'll leave that to your imagination." Max flirted, squeezing Zoe's bum.

"Max, we're at work, someone will see." Zoe said, looking around for familiar faces, luckily no one from the ED was there.

Once Zoe had returned to the ED, she went and sat in her office to get on with some paperwork. Connie was also in their office but she was staring down at her phone.

"Are you alright Connie?" Zoe asked, genuinely worried about her, usually Connie let no emotions show through.

"Yeah, it's just, that little girl, when Grace was her age, she had meningitis, it reminded me of that." Connie replied.

"You miss her don't you." Zoe said.

"Yeah, you wouldn't understand though, you don't have children." Connie replied, it came out slightly meaner than she was hoping.

"Well, I had a miscarriage once, then they told me I was infertile, I guess a small part of me misses the child I could have had." Zoe said, opening up, the only other person that knew she was infertile was Nick.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Connie said, they'd both had a lot of hardship in their lives. They sat in a comfortable silence doing their paperwork until the end of their shift.

"See you tomorrow." Zoe said, grabbing her coat and bag.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Connie replied, smiling at her. Zoe walked out her office, out of the ED and over to her car.

She sat in her car for a few minutes until Max bounded over and got in. Zoe then drove them to her solicitors. They signed the paperwork quickly then headed back to Dylan's, spending all night in each other's arms.


	17. Dr Ghezzi's Missing

Zoe awoke, wrapped in Max's arms. It was cosy and warm, she snuggled deeper into Max's chest.

"Good morning Dr Hanna." Max said, gently stroking her.

"Good morning Mr Walker." Zoe replied, getting goosebumps as Max caressed her skin.

"So, are you going to change your name to Dr Walker at work?" Max asked.

"You'll have to wait and see, but right now we need to get to work and tomorrow we can start moving our stuff in to our new house." Zoe answered, smiling sweetly at her fiancée. They got out of bed, got dressed (minus Zoe's knickers), and made their way into the kitchen to have some breakfast.

"Do you want croissants or crumpets?" Zoe asked Max as he made the coffee.

"Croissants, but I'm cooking them because I know what you're like in the kitchen." Max replied, teasing.

"Ok." Zoe said, deciding to set some places at the table.

"I see you've finally realised what a table is used for." Dylan commented as he walked into the room, closely followed by Dervla.

"Very funny Dylan." Zoe replied, walking over to the cupboard to get the Nutella out.

"Maxwell, aren't they my croissants?" Dylan asked.

"Dunno, they were in the cupboard, oh and it's Max, not Maxwell." Max replied, It really annoyed him being called Maxwell.

"Dylan, you'll be pleased to know that me and Max will be moving out tomorrow." Zoe announced, trying to ease the tension between her fiancée and her housemate.

"Right, well I'll be off now, I'll see you at work, oh and you should have said Max and I." Dylan said, slightly embarrassed by the situation.

"Dylan is it true you slept with Connie?" Zoe asked, intrigued.

Dylan simply turned bright red and walked out the door, Zoe and Max smirked, then they ate their breakfast and made their way to the ED.

Zoe got out the car first and Max got out about five minutes later, locking it with Zoe's keys.

"Hey Max, I'm free tonight if you want to come round." Daria flirted, batting her eyelashes at Max.

"For the final time, I'm engaged and have no intention to ever cheat on my fiancée, and if you ask me one more time, I'm going to get Mrs Beauchamp to sack you." Max declared angrily, Dr Ghezzi really annoyed him. She leant against the wall thinking of a way to avenge Max.

"Hi Connie, you alright?" Zoe asked as she strode into their shared office.

"Yeah, I miss Grace, she's in New York, with her father." Connie said, looking down at her hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Zoe replied.

"Don't worry Zoe, it's my fault." Connie replied.

"Well, if you need to talk." Zoe said, she did paperwork for about half an hour before exiting their office and walking towards cubicles.

"Zoe, I think this patient has a spiral fracture, would you be able to check." Lily said, handing Zoe an X-ray.

"Yep, good spot, spiral fractures are often miss diagnosed as hairlines, well done." Zoe said, impressed by the young doctor.

"Thank you." Lily said, walking off to her patient. Zoe walked over to Charlie.

"Anything interesting?" Zoe asked.

"Dr Ghezzi's disappeared and no one knows where she is." Charlie replied.

"I'll ask round." Zoe said, she paged Max, she was probably hitting on him.

Max came over to Zoe a couple of minutes later, looking scruffy, but ruggedly sexy.

"How can I help you?" Max said, once he reached Zoe.

"Dr Ghezzi's gone missing, do you know where she is?" Zoe asked.

"She was outside about half an hour ago." Max replied.

"Ok, let's go see if she's there now." Zoe declared, leading Max outside to there usual smoking spot.

"Well, she's not here." Zoe said, beginning to walk towards the entrance of the ED. Then suddenly.

Boom.

Zoe was blasted backwards, she hit her head and everything went black.

"Ok everyone she's coming round." An unfamiliar voice said, Zoe opened her eyes, she looked around at her surroundings. It was bright, clinical, she was in a hospital.

"Where am I?" Zoe asked, "what hospital am I in?"

"You're at St James', there was a bomb, in Holby ED." The voice replied, it was a feminine voice, kind sounding.

"Where's Max, he's my fiancée, he's called Max Walker, I need to see him." Zoe said, she was panicking, what if something had happened to him.

"We'll find out for you, some casualties have been taken to Bristol, we'll find out where he is for you." The kind voice said, she had long blonde hair, scraped up in a ponytail, she was wearing dark blue, she was a nurse.


	18. Dead?

"Hi, Zoe. I'm really sorry but there's no Max Walker in this hospital but we're phoning Bristol to see if he's there." The nurse said.

"Do you know what's wrong with me?" Zoe asked, eager to try and take her mind off worrying about Max.

"Luckily your skull's not fractured but you've got a fracture to your left ulna and your right radius." The nurse replied, trying to reassure her patient.

"When will you find out where Max is?" Zoe asked worriedly.

"Hopefully soon, you'll have to stay in for a couple of days though because you had a head injury, your next of kin has been called." The nurse replied.

"Who is my next of kin?" Zoe asked, she couldn't remember who she'd put down.

"A Nick Jordan?" The nurse replied, trying to remember his name.

"But he lives in America." Zoe said, she was confused.

"Well, luckily he was visiting on business, he'll be here in about half an hour." The nurse said, then exited the room. Zoe sat pondering, he'd been given five years left to live more than five years ago. And what was he doing in England, why hadn't he told her?

"Zoe, are you ok?" Nick said, once he'd found her.

"Nick, I thought you were dead." Zoe said, feeling tearful.

"What gave you that idea. I wouldn't have my funeral without you." Nick said said, perching on the edge of her bed.

"Excuse me." The nurse interrupted, with a solemn look on her face.

"What is it?" Zoe asked, she'd seen that look before and it was never a good sign.

"Max Walker, he was killed in the blast." The nurse said.

"Who's Max Walker?" Nick asked, Zoe simply lay still, she couldn't believe it, Max couldn't be dead. It always had to happen to her she though.

"Zoe, who's Max?" Nick asked again, worries for his friends.

Zoe slowly regained composure and looks at Nick.

"My fiancée." She mumbled, before bursting into tears and looking at the ground.

"Oh Zoe." Nick exclaimed, he went to comfort her, hugging her with his familiar arms.

"I'll leave you to it." The nurse said, exiting the room. Neither acknowledged her exit. Nick was worried for Zoe and all Zoe could think about was Max. His cheeky smile, his cheesy remarks, his twinkling eyes. She would never see them again, she would never wake up beside him, she would never get to kiss him ever again.

"Why don't I turn the radio on to cheer us up." Nick suggested, turning the dial on the radio next to Zoe's bed.

'L is for the way you look at me,

O is for the only one I see,

V is very very extraordinary,

E is even more than anyone that you adore can' Zoe simply cried, unable to contain her sorrow as it gushed out in the form of tears. Her eyes stung as the small drops of water rolled down her cheeks, dampening Nicks shoulder as she leaned against him.

"Why did the song make you cry Zoe?" Nick asked, turning the radio off again, it had obviously been a bad move.

"It was our song." Zoe muttered, a new wave of tears washing down her face, her makeup had been swept away by the tidal wave of tears, leaving only black streaks.

"I want my mum." Zoe announced, once she finally found the strength to manage words.

"Ok, I'll get the nurse to call her, shall I go and see her." Nick said, hugging Zoe tighter.

"No, don't leave, press the help button." Zoe replied, not wanting to leave the warm grip of Nick's arms.

"Ok." He said softly, extracting one arm to press the yellow button next to the bed. Almost immediately a nurse entered the room.

"Can I help?" She asked.

"Can you call her mum please." Nick said to the nurse, comforting Zoe as she continued to cry.

"Sure." The nurse replied, walking back out of Zoe's private room. Zoe and Nick sat quietly for a while, the only sound coming from Zoe's sobs, the grief she felt had been like nothing before, not even when Nick was dying, and refusing surgery. All she could think of was the ugly blackness of death, creeping down far to early on Max, swooping in like a vulture, and tearing him to pieces. Yet Zoe felt like the one torn apart by the vulture, she felt as though her heart had been shredded, leaving only the basic elements of life. Not dead, but not living.

"Your mum's coming down, she said she'll be about three hours." The nurse said, awakening Zoe from her somber thoughts.

"Thank you." She managed, unable to keep dignified. As the nurse left someone else walked into the room.

"Zoe? Whatever's the matter with you? Why are you crying?" Connie said, being her usual icy self, not like the softer side Zoe had begun to see recently.

"Max is dead." Zoe said, crying more as she said it.

"And why are you crying like that?" Connie asked.

Zoe simply remained silent so Nick answered for her.

"Well Mrs Beauchamp," Nick began slightly harshly, " Zoe and Max are engaged to be married."

"Were." Zoe corrected, feeling as though the whole of her world had fallen apart. Connie simply stood there, amazed. She's thought there was something between them, but engaged. Connie left the room, to gather her thoughts, as she left she bumped shoulders with someone entering the room. She didn't see who it was, probably some friend or relative she thought. They entered the room.

"Zoe."


	19. You're Not Imagining Things

**sorry it's been so** long** since I updated, especially since it was left on a cliff hanger but I've been super busy. Everything will be explained in time but you'll find out as Zoe and Max do. X**

"Zoe."

Zoe looked up from Nick's shoulder, she started shaking, she couldn't believe it, she must be imagining things. Nick turned round, standing in the doorway was a man with scruffy brown hair, quite skinny, and he had a worried smile on his face.

"Max." Zoe said, slowly swinging her legs off the side of the bed and walking over to Max. She touched his hand, it was warm and soft, he had a small cut on his head and one arm was in a sling, but not broken.

"It's me Zoe, what's wrong?" Max asked.

"They told me you were dead." Zoe replied, gazing into his eyes.

"Well, I'm alive right now." He replied, he smiled at his joke, his eyes twinkling a little. Zoe turned round, looking to Nick for support.

"Zoe, he is there, you're not imagining it, they must have made a mistake." Nick said, slightly confused at the situation.

At Nick's statement, Max and Zoe simultaneously broke into a smile, then they leant forward to kiss, it was a wonderful passionate kiss, full of feelings and unspoken words, but it was sweet and loving at the same time.

Once they finally tore apart Zoe buried her head in Max's chest, crying, she was completely overwhelmed. They stood there, comforting each other for a long time, Max occasionally wispering,

"It's alright Zoe, everything's going to be ok." This made her smile, all her fiancée ever did was for her.

After a while they broke apart,

"Max, my makeup's ruined." Zoe said, desperate to look in a mirror, she'd glimpsed sight of her face in something shiny, but it wasn't a mirror.

"You look amazing," Max replied charmingly, "like you always do." He smiled at her, looking into her eyes.

"We were meant to be moving in today." Zoe said, smiling weakly.

"Well, we'll have to postpone it slightly. Maybe we should go to Brighton or something, while the hospital's being rebuilt." Max said, squeezing Zoe's hand.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, we can move our stuff to our new house then go down to Brighton for a few months. I could probably do some locuming or something." Zoe replied.

"Ok, why don't we go for a walk, I'm sure you're a bit bored of this room now." Max said, leading her to the door, Zoe followed, eager for a change of scenery.

After walking around the hospital for about ten minutes they found Robyn, she was on a surgical ward.

"Robyn, are you ok?" Max said, running over to her bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I ruptured my spleen so I had an operation but apart from that I'm completely fine." Robyn replied, "are you two ok?"

"Yeah, Zoe's got to stay in for a couple of days, but after that we're going to go down to Brighton for a while." Max said, pulling Zoe closer to him.

They continued chatting for about ten minutes until they decided it was time to move on. They said goodbye to Robyn and left her ward in search of their other colleagues.

After a while, they found Ethan.

"Ethan, are you ok?" Zoe asked, holding hands with Max.

"Yeah, but Honey's in a coma." Ethan replied, looking down at Honey on the bed beside him, relying on a ventilator to breathe.

"Oh Ethan, I'm sorry." Zoe said, hugging him. It was slightly awkward at first, but then Ethan relaxed. After the hug he felt a lot better.

"Why are you two together?" He asked.

Zoe glanced over to Max, "Well, we were going to keep it a secret but I suppose there's not much point." Zoe said, we're engaged."

"What, you're together?" Ethan said, he was shocked. Max always seemed like a bit of a playboy and Zoe seemed to classy to go out with a porter.

"Yep," Max replied, "but what makes it so unbelievable, you're going out with a coffee shop girl."

"I suppose." Ethan said, his inside twinged as the conversation turned to Honey.

"Well, we'll leave you to it, I hope Honey gets better soon." Zoe said, Max and Ethan smiled at each other before exiting the room. They decided to go back to Zoe's room and have some lunch.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Nick said, once they'd entered the room. He had his glasses on and he was reading the times, occasionally taking a sip from his coffee.

"Yes thank you, do you want a sandwich or something? Max is going to go and get some lunch." Zoe replied.

"No thanks, I had a big breakfast." Nick announced, focusing his eyes on the paper in front of him.

"I'll have tuna mayo please Mr Walker." Zoe said to her fiancée, smiling at him.

"Coming up Dr Hanna, I'll get you some roast chicken crisps as well, I know they're your favourite." Max said, chastely kissing Zoe before leaving the room. Zoe settled herself down on her bed and decided to have a chat with Nick.

"So, have they changed your expected life span?" Zoe asked.

"Well, I went for a check up. The operation I had completely killed the tumour so I should have a good life." Nick replied, he was over the moon when he found out. But the pessimistic side of him could only think that they'd made a mistake, and that one day he'd suddenly drop down dead without the chance to say goodbye to anyone.

"Really? That actually happens, in real life." Zoe asked, disbelieving.

"Yep, it's amazing really. But Zoe, why is Connie Beauchamp here?" Nick said.

"She's the new clinical lead." Zoe declared.

"I've never liked her." Nick said.

"I'm sure you mentioned her once, we're," Zoe struggled for words to describe it, "resolving our difficulties."

"Well, you two are too similar not to hate each other sometimes." Nick said.

"Similar, excuse me. I am not an emotionless cow who doesn't know what love is." Zoe said sassily, annoyed that Nick had said they were similar.

"Well, that's certainly a loveless declaration concerning someone you're meant to be friends with." Nick smirked, he loved teasing Zoe.

"Well Nick, I just value truth over truth distorted by niceties." Zoe announced, crossing her arms. Nick simply smiled at her, he still loved her, deep down, but their relationship had been too badly damaged.


End file.
